


Pride

by two_drama_nerds_in_a_boat



Series: Bailor's Femslash February 2021 [2]
Category: Lumberjanes
Genre: Ace Diane, Bi Emily, Canon LGBTQ Character, F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, LGBTQ Character of Color, Lesbian Hes, Lesbian Mackenzie, Nonbinary Barney, Nonbinary Emily, Pride, Trans Wren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29185761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/two_drama_nerds_in_a_boat/pseuds/two_drama_nerds_in_a_boat
Summary: It's a quiet day in the middle of June. The Zodiacs sneak out of camp for the day to go to Pride.
Relationships: Diane/Hes (Lumberjanes)
Series: Bailor's Femslash February 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139363
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8
Collections: Femslash February





	Pride

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> So this fic has canon identities included in it (Barney is obviously nonbinary and Diane is ace) as well as fanon (trans Wren) and some of my own headcanons (bi and nonbinary Emily, lesbian Mackenzie, and lesbian Hes). Emily uses she/her, they/them, and bee/bees pronouns interchangeably, depending on how they feel. In addition to LGBTQ headcanons, I also included in this fic the headcanon that Emily is HOH and uses hearing aids, so she speaks fluent ASL and is teaching the rest of the Zodiacs.
> 
> Also, this is set when the LJ comics take place (summer of 2014) so gay marriage has not yet been legalized in all 50 states (hence Hes referencing this fact while explaining a very, very brief history of LGBTQ rights to Diane in a bit of dialogue in the fic). 
> 
> I hope you enjoy :D

Sneaking out of camp was actually easier than Hes thought it would be. But then again, most things are easy once you've got the Roanokes on your side. With Jen covering for them and Rosie out on 'Classified But Important Business' for the day, it's barely sneaking at all. They get ready in their cabin - Wren uses faceprint to give Barney a little nonbinary flag on their cheek, and a lesbian flag on Hes's. Emily wears bees pride t-shirt, and Wren wears the trans scarf Emily made her in arts and crafts. Mackenzie hands out pronoun pins and pride pins, says she brought them to camp with her, but they all know that she snuck out last night to buy them from the strip mall about a mile out from them (though you can get there quicker, if the Forest likes you). The rest of them have bets on where exactly she got them from; Wren thinks it was the Target. Diane has her money on Hot Topic. 

Once they're in their gear, glittery and bright and covered in all sorts of flags, though at varying degrees. Emily's decked out head-to-toe in bisexual and nonbinary merch, plus bees favorite neurodivergent flag pin, and the ones displaying all bees pronouns "SHE/HER" "THEY/THEM" and "BEE/BEES" the set bee's using today. Barney's only wearing two little pins - one that reads "THEY/THEM," and another that says "Flappy Hands are Happy Hands". Diane, on the other hand, wears nothing; just some glitter in her hair, left over from when she and Wren were They go out the back of the cabin, screen door clacking shut behind them. Up behind Dighton, Woolpit, Roanoke (Jen gives them a thumbs-up through the window, a sign that the plan is going as it should - Hes returns the signal, a reminder that she hasn't forgot that the Zodiacs promised to keep watch for when the Roanokes sneak out tomorrow), up past the communal showers, around the mess hall, and up Rosie's office, where they crouch in the bushes and wait. 

"Rosie?" Hes asks in ASL, using the sign name Wren gave the Head of Camp at the beginning of the summer. Wren risks a glance up into the window, before ducking back into her hiding spot. 

"Clear," Wren signs, and they all step out of their hiding places. 

"Well Zodiacs," Hes says, standing underneath the HARDCORE LADY TYPES sign. "It looks like we're going to Pride." 

That earns a giant WOOHOO from Emily, and a quiet "Hell yeah" from Wren, and flappy hands from Barney, and a finger gun from Mackenzie. Diane just kinda shrugs. 

"I really don't see what the big deal is," Diane says, as Hes takes her hand and they start walking at the front of the group. Hes is sort of the leader. It's not so much that she feels the need to be in front; it's just that no matter what they do, she always finds herself there. 

"Well, it started out as riots, actually." 

Diane's eyes sparkle at that. "Riots?"

Hes isn't surprise; she figured a bit of protesting would get her girlfriend's attention. 

"Well, yeah. At first they were protests. To get folks like us rights, equal treatment... that's how it worked in the USA, at least. Even today the government still doesn't allow or recognize same-sex marriage in all fifty states, and there's so much more... we're still fighting, I guess. But things have gotten better, so these sorts of things are more celebrations, now. To show our pride. That we're not scared of the folks who want to keep us hiding in the shadows." Hes pauses, thinking. "I'm actually sorta surprised you don't know more about this. Aren't you, I dunno, _immortal._ "

"Eh," Diane waves the thought away, like she does most questions about her godly heritage. "Anyway, the history sounds cool, but big celebrations are more my brother's thing." 

"I get that," Hes says. Diane knows she's not a fan of large crowds, either. "But this is important to me."

"And I'm going to be by your side the whole time," Diane smiles at Hes, one of her rare smiles. "I support you, and I want to be with you. You know that. I'm just... not used to big celebrations. 

They're starting to head into the trees, now, and Hes calls to the group to rest for a moment, before they're too far in. Then, she leans against one of the trees, touching her forehead to it's rough park. 

_Please, Forest,_ she silently begs. _Grant us safe and quick passage to town._

Then, she pulls a small spell satchet that Wren helped her make at the base of the tree, and watches the mossy forest floor absorb it.

"Okay hardcore lady-types," Hes says. "Let's go."

Hes leads the group down a path that they're all sure wasn't there a few moments ago, and Wren and Emily make a game of trying to "remember" the scientific names of various types of flora and fauna - which really just means that they take turns pointing at a various different animals and plants, and then the other person has to make up an over-the-top, absolutely ridiculous, utterly absurd name for it that sounds vaguely Latin. Once Mackenzie bores of re-adjusting her lesbian flag cape for the hundredth time, she even joins in. 

"Scientific name," Wren says, pointing at a pine cone. "Go." 

"Spiky faux porcupinicus!" Mackenzie shouts. 

"The rare pricklypearastvenenum!!" Emily adds, giving Mackenzie a friendly shove out of the way, as if declaring her knowledge of porcupine trivia far superior. 

"Junkin' Sagittarius," Mackenzie mutters, grinning. She shoves Em back. 

"Darn Leo," says Emily, and they devolve into a slap fight, keeping it up as they walk along with the rest of the group. 

"Freakin' fire signs," Wren laughs. She didn't know much about Zodiac signs at the start of the summer, but after they all found out the name of the cabin, Mackenzie decided that it was fate, and made it her mission to teach all of them as much about horoscopes as possible. She remembers how they all lost it when they first found out that Diane, the immortal Greek goddess, not only had a birthday, but as also a Gemini on top of it. 

"Team water forever," Barney says, and they give Wren a high-five. "I'm so excited for pride! I've never been... 'course the Scouting Lads talked about making it a group outing about a month ago, but they couldn't figure a way out of the forest, and we were all still recovering from Apollo. But now I'm going with you, and I'm so excited!" They caught their hands flapping, and almost made an attempt to mask, before realizing that they were with their cabin. "I can't wait to see everything! Especially the parade." 

"You'll love it," Wren says. "Especially all the trans parts. They're the coolest." 

Barney grins at that. " _We're_ the coolest." 

"Hell yeah." 

They're getting close to the edge of the Forest, now. Hes can feel it. It's in the tremors in the ground, the whispers of the trees, the way the birds stop singing and just start chirping. Hes pulls the little poster Jo gave her out of her pocket, the one Jo's dads sent, about the pride festival in town. She reads the location and thinks of it over and over and over again in her head. She refuses to let the Forest lead them in the wrong direction. She can feel the ground shift beneath her feet as the path moves. She wonders if the others notice is; Diane certainly does, as she gives Hes's hand a squeeze, holding on tighter. Diane's not used to the Forest yet, the way it's always moving, growing, changing. Diane's magic is old, sure. But a part of Hes thinks that the Forest is older, somehow. Why else would Di be afraid of it?

"We're getting close to town," Hes says, earning her a cheer from the kids behind her. Barney's joined the name game now, and has expertly dubbed a fern _Specus Mister Fernicus._

But just when they think they're in the clear, Hes feels something shift. Not the ground beneath her feet, no - it's something in the wind. Chatter on the breeze. Laughing, and not from her kids. 

Hes lets go of Di's hand, turning to face the rest of the group. "Someone's coming," she signs, hands so fast they're almost a blur. "Hide." 

They all duck behind the bushes - Mackenzie actually manages to scramble up a tree, and Hes wants to bug her for showing off, but they don't have time. They can't get caught. Hes asked the Forest not to send any trouble their way, asked it to keep them safe, asked it to hide them and make their journey quick, _Hes trusted it-_

"Kids?" Says a familiar voice from somewhere in the distance. "Kids?"

"Wait a minute," Diane mutters. "Is that-" 

"Oh, hi kids!" Rosie says, with all her riveting charm. "Going to the pride festival in town?"

Slowly, they all step out from behind the greenery. Mackenzie makes quick time shimmying down the tree. Rosie's looking at Hes, flashing her that toothy grin, eyes hidden behind cat-eye glasses.

It's then that Hes notices the giant lesbian flag Rosie's carrying, the pole probably carved by Rosie herself, from one of the trees in the woods, flag knit during one of her long talks with the counselors, all the while making sure to "forget" Jen's real name. And then Hes notices something else - Abigail, that blonde chick the Roanokes told her about, at Rosie's side, absolutely terrifying as ever.

"Told ya," Mackenzie whispers to Wren, as the rest of the Zodiacs notice Abigail with Rosie, too. 

"Fine," Wren says, and forks over twenty bucks. 

"Yeah," Hes admits. "We were going to pride." 

"Oh that's lovely!" Rosie beams, throwing her hands up in the air, flag flying, almost knocking over a few trees. "You know I've been thinking for the longest time about organizing a group outing for pride, bringing the whole camp - or whoever wants to go, at least - but I've never gotten around to it. I'm so glad you kids took the time to organize this as a cabin activity. Isn't it nice, Abigail?" 

"Lovely, dear," Abigail says, though her mind's clearly elsewhere. She gives Hes a look of suspicion. "How _did_ you manage to find the route to town so quickly?"

"Trick my grandmother taught me, ma'am," Hes says, taking her Look-At-What-An-Amazing-Scout-I-Am stance. "A Lumberjanes talent." 

"You have _got_ to teach me," she says, mood suddenly lifting, and Hes realizes the original glare was just the face of someone stuck deep in thought. Abigail's brightened up now, almost as sunny as Rosie. "It would've made hunting the Grootslang so much eas-" 

"Dear," Rosie says, "we should probably be letting these girls be on their way. We don't want them to miss any of the festivities." 

"Of course," Abigail says. Then she leans towards Hes. " _Jen knows where my lodge is,"_ she whispers. " _You and your cabin meet me there - you teach me that trick I'll teach your friends how to shoot a shotgun."_

"I-" 

"Bye kids!" Rosie says, walking along towards camp. "Have fun at pride!" 

Rosie and Abigail are gone, and soon, the Zodiacs are in town. 

"You're not actually gonna let the scary blonde teach us how to shoot, are you?" Asks Wren, walking up beside Hes. 

"Hell no." Hes laughs. "I can't believe she and Rosie are dating." 

"Told ya," Mackenzie says. "I fucking called it." Her eyes widen. "Wait a minute! I can say fuck again! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-" 

"We must be getting close to town," Hes says. She glances at the ground beneath her feet and realizes she's hit concrete. "Zodiacs, I think we've made it to the main road!" 

"Holy fucking shitballs," says Wren. "I always forget how much I miss swearing." 

Hes watches as the Forest around them starts to disappear, as the concrete becomes less cracked, fresher, the further they move on. The Forest has become the forest. Hes sighs, breathes in the air; it's weird here, though not necessarily in a bad way. It's just not charged with magic the way the Forest is. Hes grins. 

A small price to pay for the right to say fuck every now and then. 

"Y'know, I've been going to camp for _years_ , and I still don't get how- or why, for that matter- the Forest can censor all swears to the word 'junk'." 

"Never learned that Lumberjanes trick, didja?"

"Oh shut up." Hes points to the crowd of lights and rainbows ahead of them. "We're just about here, anyway!" 

"HELL YEAH!" Emily grabs Barney by the hand, pulling them towards the glittery crowd. "Let's go!! I _know_ we can find a nice quiet corner with free merch and _loads_ of other trans folks-" 

And then they're gone, into the crowd. 

"BUDDY SYSTEM!!" Hes shouts after them, watching as Wren and Mackenzie partner up and disappear somewhere by one of the floats. "BUDDY SYSTEM!! MEET BACK HERE IN THIRTY MINUTES FOR CHECK IN, AND-" 

"They'll be fine," Diane says, grabbing ahold of Hes's hand. "We're the Zodiacs. We always end up back together." She tackles Hes in a hug, leaving her girlfriend a blushing mess. "Now," she says, "you wanted to show me what pride's all about?"

Hes walks Diane through the edges of the festival, past people with hot pink hair and petitions they want signed, past a nonbinary person handing out free ACLU t-shirts (Diane accepts one awkwardly, unsure exactly of what to do in this situation), up towards a booth with a history of different pride flags. The woman behind the booth smiles at them kindly, and Hes gives her a small smile and a wave in response. 

"I didn't realize there were so many," Diane says, looking at all the pride flags in front of her, neatly labeled with the group they represent, the date they were created, and what the colors mean. "Oh, here's the lesbian one! The one you're wearing!" 

Hes grins. "Yep!" 

"First pride?" Asks the woman behind the table. 

"Her first, yeah," Hes says. "She's from out of town - we go to camp around here, and I wanted to take my girlfriend to her first pride." 

Diane blushes at the word, wrapping her arm around Hes. "Cool booth," she says to the woman. 

The woman laughs. "Thanks! Feel free to look around, ask questions, and- oh! I forgot," she pulls out a large bin of little pride flags from beneath the table. "We've got a bunch of extras, the booth across the way over ordered. You kids want anything?"

Hes looks through the bin - they've really got everything, here. She grabs a lesbian flag and tucks it her pocket so that the flag bit sticks out. Diane's looking through them, matching them to their descriptions on the woman's display. Hes watches as she carefully picks up the asexual flag, gently. Almost scared it'll break. 

"For people who don't experience sexual attraction..." she mutters to herself, reading the words out loud as she reads them on sign. Her eyes widen. "Wait a minute. Like me?"

"Yeah Di!" 

"I didn't know there was a word for it..." 

Hes takes the flag and tucks it behind Diane's ear, making sure it won't fall out. She thanks the woman, who wishes them a good day. 

Hes checks her watch - they have another twenty eight minutes until they rendezvous with the rest of their group. She Diane start to work their way into the center of the festival, full of people dancing and laughing and walking around with their friends and family. They stop for snacks at a churro stand, because Diane's never had churros before and "We have _got_ to fix that" and suddenly Diane can't have enough and she goes back for seconds, and then Hes has to talk her out of spending all their money on thirds and fourths and fifths. Diane throws on the ACLU shirt the nonbinary person gave her, and it's a perfect fit, and Hes says that it looks great on her, and Diane smiles. They meet back with their friends at the rendezvous and Barney's got a giant nonbinary flag as a cape, now, and Wren has a little trans cat stuffed animal, and Emily's got free plastic wristbands all up her arms, and Mackenzie's telling them all about these petitions she signed that she thinks they all ought to go back and sign, too, because they're really important and they're gonna make a difference. Diane finds herself a bit exhausted from all the social interaction, but happy, leaning up against Hes. 

"Like it so far?" Hes asks. 

Diane's hand reaches up and grabs the ace flag from behind her ear, and she looks down at it smiling softly. "Love it." She turns to Hes and gives her a big hug. "Thanks, Hes." 

The Zodiacs debrief, make their next plan, and then disappear together back into the fray.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!


End file.
